Predicting the earnings of supported employees with mental retardation: a longitudinal study

A random sample (N = 197) of supported employees with mental retardation was examined in a longitudinal study. Results indicate that intelligence, prior earnings, and federal job subsidy predicted future earnings. Statistical controls applied to the stratified sample show that job placement, job type, subsidy, and means of transportation had little influence on earnings.     

Job seeking, reemployment, and mental health: A randomized field experiment in coping with job loss.

Cognitive theories of adherence to difficult courses of action and findings from previous survey research on coping with a major life event—job loss—were used to generate a preventive intervention, tested by a randomized field experiment. The aim was to prevent poor mental health and loss of motivation to seek reemployment among those who continued to be unemployed and to promote high-quality reemployment. Ss were 928 recently unemployed adults from southeastern Michigan, representing a broad range of demographic characteristics; they were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control condition. The experimental intervention included training in job-seeking with a problem-solving process emphasizing inoculation against setbacks and positive social reinforcement. A pretest was administered, followed by posttests 1 and 4 months after the experiment. The experimental condition yielded higher quality reemployment in terms of earnings and job satisfaction, and higher motivation among those who continued to be unemployed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client perception of the counselor and orality.

Since previous research and psychoanalytic theory have demonstrated that orality is related to accurate perception of others, it was predicted that high-oral clients would be more accurate perceivers of their counselors than low-oral clients. A pilot study of 12 clients and graduate-student counselors found a trend in the expected direction; a larger study of 21 Ss using a revised Perception of Counselor Questionnaire confirmed the hypothesis. Accuracy of perceiving the counselor did not improve from the 1st administration of the questionnaire, which followed the 3rd counseling session, to that which followed the termination of counseling. The most accurate perceptions were made by female clients with male counselors. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety behavior: Job demands, job resources, and perceived management commitment to safety.

The job demands-resources model posits that job demands and resources influence outcomes through job strain and work engagement processes. We test whether the model can be extended to effort-related “routine” safety violations and “situational” safety violations provoked by the organization. In addition we test more directly the involvement of job strain than previous studies which have used burnout measures. Structural equation modeling provided, for the first time, evidence of predicted relationships between job strain and “routine” violations and work engagement with “routine” and “situational” violations, thereby supporting the extension of the job demands-resources model to safety behaviors. In addition our results showed that a key safety-specific construct 'perceived management commitment to safety' added to the explanatory power of the job demands-resources model. A predicted path from job resources to perceived management commitment to safety was highly significant, supporting the view that job resources can influence safety behavior through both general motivational involvement in work (work engagement) and through safety-specific processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some factors influencing income aspiration.

For two industrial groups (N = 534, 269), the relationships among age, length of service, total earnings, satisfaction with earnings, and earnings aspirations and expectations were studied. For the groups of Indian workers studied, it was found that job satisfaction was highly related to income expectation, and that expectations are related to earnings. Income aspirations also were related to skill level and educational level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maintaining Change Following Eating Disorder Treatment.

Residential eating disorder treatment involves emotional, financial, and time commitments from clients, staff, and the health care system. At discharge, most clients have made substantial nutritional, social, and psychological changes. However, maintaining these changes when intensive support is no longer available represents a significant challenge, and it is common for individuals to slip back into previous eating disorder patterns. Interviews with 32 individuals were conducted 6 months after discharge. Qualitative analyses revealed a pattern of factors that facilitated and hindered recovery. These factors were integrated with past research findings to develop a conceptual model about how changes are maintained. Recommendations regarding ways that health care professionals can assist with the transition from intensive treatment to community living are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for Domestic Violence: Recommendations Based on a Practice Survey.

How do practicing psychologists identify female victims of domestic violence? When asking about harm to self and others, do they also ask if the client is in danger of being harmed by another in an intimate relationship? A national survey of practicing psychologists revealed that 95% agreed that it is their responsibility to assist victimized clients, but fewer than 19% routinely screen for domestic violence. Psychologists report several barriers to screening at intake, which coupled with low screening rates, suggest that psychologists are missing important opportunities to assist clients who are at risk for assault. Several recommendations designed to improve psychologists' screening rates for domestic violence are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inpatient care or outplacement: which is better for the psychiatric medically infirm patient?

Eighty-four geriatirc ward patients were randomly assigned to groups targeted for outplacement planning or inpatient care. During the following year, half of the former were placed in community settings while nearly all of the latter remained in the hospital. Neither the physical health, level of self-care, or psychiatric condition ratings of the two groups changed differentially over that time. However, the mean Morale Inventory score of the outplacement sample improved while that of the in-patient group remained static. Additional analyses were run between three groups - outplacement planning subjects who were released, those who were not released, and inpatient planning men who were not released. These results confirmed those of the first analyses; the only significant difference appeared on the Morale Inventory, the patients who left showing more improvement than the other two groups. The results argue for an increased emphasis on outplacement programs among geriatric patients.     

Chronic pain management in the workplace

1. Occupational health nurses often have the opportunity and knowledge to assist clients with chronic pain management and help them progress toward a more active and fulfilling lifestyle. 2. Proper pain management is considered one of the major concerns of modern health care. Health providers continue to search for ways to explain, predict, and cure the misery caused by chronic pain. 3. Chronic pain management is a multifacted condition of both mind and body and is heavily influenced by environmental factors such a family, cultural norms, and job expectations. 4. Current chronic pain management strategies focus on the whole person, not just the painful symptoms experienced by the individual.     

Congruence between culturally competent treatment and cultural needs of older Latinos.

This study investigated a new 2-factor construct, termed cultural congruence, which is related to cultural competence in the delivery of mental health services to ethnic minority clients. Cultural congruence was defined as the distance between the cultural competence characteristics of the health care organization and the clients’ perception of those elements according to their cultural needs. The measure evidenced both reliability and validity in predicting criterion-related indicators. Older Hispanic/Latino clients (N = 272) receiving mental health services either through integrated primary care or referral to specialized mental health care were assessed for depression and anxiety symptomatology and health status at baseline, 3-, and 6-month follow-up treatment. Results indicated that cultural congruence predicted treatment outcomes (reduction of symptomatology) independent of treatment and evidenced moderator effects with respect to depression, suicidality, anxiety, and physical health criteria. Cultural congruence was more effective under the condition of the enhanced specialty referral model than under the integrated primary care model. Results are discussed in terms of how the new construct of cultural congruence extends knowledge of culturally competent mental health practice among the older Hispanic/Latino population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stigma of psychological therapy: Stereotypes, interpersonal reactions, and the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Investigated stereotypes of counseling center clients and examined how these preconceptions influence social interaction. 136 undergraduates, told they were participating in a study of the acquaintance process in social interactions, were randomly assigned to be perceivers or targets. Ss engaged in a brief getting-acquainted conversation. Targets were randomly assigned to conditions in which perceivers were told that their conversational partner, the target, had been recruited either from among students seeking psychological therapy (clients) or from students in introductory psychology courses (nonclients). As was predicted, perceivers rated clients less favorably than they did nonclients before they interacted. Futhermore, consistent with previous research on the self-fulfilling prophecy, judges' ratings of the interactions revealed that perceivers behaved more negatively toward clients than toward nonclients, and clients came to behave in a less socially desirable manner than did nonclients. It is suggested that fear of rejection that makes people reluctant to seek psychological therapy appears to be justified. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive and managerial assessment: Value for the money?

Highlights key considerations that should be addressed by consulting psychologists to demonstrate the value of assessment services that they provide to clients. Executive and managerial assessment (EMA) is done in a variety of contexts, at multiple levels, and for multiple purposes. In order to demonstrate the value of EMA, it is suggested that consultants present a 2-part framework of evidence to decision makers. First, they should present the results of utility analysis, using the very best parameter estimates available. Second, they should present a detailed linkage of essential job tasks to required knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs). Then, KSAOs should be linked to instruments of prediction back to essential job tasks. Value is therefore demonstrated in 2 ways: in financial terms as well as by presenting construct-oriented evidence of validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Return to work for patients with traumatic brain injury. Analysis of costs

This brief report describes staff time commitment and program cost outcomes for a return to work program of supported employment for persons with brain injuries. The mean cost of providing services was $10,198 for the first year of service (median, $6,942). Clients achieved job stabilization after an average of 18 wk of time-limited job coaching services, during which they received mean intervention time of 245.7 h (median, 219) at a cost of $7,789. A mean of 2.24 h/wk of extended services intervention was required to maintain clients in employment for the remainder of the first year of service, at a mean weekly cost of $71.01. Results are compared with findings reported in a previous study using a smaller sample.     

Treatment of nonphobic anxiety disorders: A comparison of nondirective, cognitive, and coping desensitization therapy.

The present study compared the efficacy of nondirective therapy, coping desensitization, and cognitive therapy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. All clients received 12 sessions of progressive relaxation training in addition to one of these three treatments. Pretherapy and posttherapy assessments, as well as 6-month and 12-month follow-up measurements, indicated that the group as a whole showed significant and continued improvement on a variety of self-report questionnaire, daily diary, and psychiatric assessor instruments. No differences were found between the three conditions. As was found in a previous investigation, the degree to which clients experienced relaxation-induced anxiety during relaxation training sessions predicted poorer outcome. The outcome results are compared with those of previous investigations of these anxiety disorders, and directions for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between osmotic stress and calcium elevation: in vitro and in vivo rat lens models

Recent evaluations by the U.S. General Accounting Office and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of reemployment efforts of the federal-state vocational rehabilitation program found that services offered by state vocational rehabilitation agencies do not produce long-term earnings for clients with emotional or physical disabilities. This paper examines reasons for these poor outcomes and the implications of recent policy reform recommendations. Congress must decide whether to take action at the federal level to upgrade programs affecting persons with severe mental illnesses or to continue to rely on state decision making. The federal-state program largely wastes an estimated $490 million annually on time-limited services to consumers with mental illnesses. Rechanneled into a variety of innovative and more appropriate integrated services models, the money could buy stable annual vocational rehabilitation funding for 62,000 to 90,000 consumers with severe mental illnesses. Larger macrosystem problems involve the dynamics of the labor market that limit job opportunities and the powerful work disincentives for consumers with severe disabilities now inherent in Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, and Medicaid.     

Using the Cumulative Cost Model to Forecast Equipment Repair Costs: Two Different Methodologies

Professionals in the construction industry must be able to accurately forecast costs. Doing so not only helps assure reasonable profits for companies, but it can also help ensure that projects are delivered within budget for clients. Forecasting of equipment repair costs is one element of the larger problem of predicting overall costs. The cumulative cost model can provide construction engineers with a valuable tool for better understanding the nature of repair costs as they relate to production fleets. Data that are being collected (or that could be collected) can assist in the determination of the rate of accumulation of repair costs for a machine for a given period of use or the estimation of fleet repair budgets for a job or period. There are two different methodologies for constructing the repair cost portion of the cumulative cost model: life-to-date (LTD) repair costs and the period-cost-based (PCB) model. This paper will provide the steps and background for each of these two methodologies and compare them using a practical example.     

Psychotherapy and aging: Results of two empirical studies between psychotherapists and elderly people.

Reports results from 2 studies that investigated predictors of psychotherapists' interest in clients over age 65 and addressed elderly people's opinions and fears concerning psychotherapy. In Study 1, 82 (38%) practicing behavioral and psychodynamic or psychoanalytic therapists (mean age 50.6 yrs) returned questionnaires concerning their education and experiences with elderly clients and completed a test of gerontological knowledge. Contrary to common belief, neither gerontological knowledge nor therapist's age predicted interest in elderly clients. The only significant predictor was previous experience with elderly clients. Study 2 investigated the opinions and fears of 84 elderly persons (mean age 74.3 yrs) concerning psychotherapy, using a questionnaire that consisted of 3 scales: prejudices against psychotherapy, sharing problems with others, and fears of psychotherapy. Results show that prejudices and fears were higher in older elderly as compared to younger elderly but they were not as predominant as expected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived employment barriers and their relation to workforce-entry intent among people with HIV/AIDS.

As treatments have improved health and quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS, many have contemplated workforce reentry. Workforce reentry rarely occurs among people with illness-related disability. The authors mailed a survey that included workforce-entry-related concerns to 1,991 HIV/AIDS clients. Factor analysis extracted 6 areas of concern (benefits loss, work-related health, job skills, discrimination, personal health care, workplace accommodation). Levels of concern generally increased with HIV acuity level and time since last worked. Work-related health concerns predicted consideration of workforce entry, and work-related health concerns and benefits-loss concerns predicted estimated time to return to work. Findings provide quantitative validation of intuitive categories of workforce-entry concerns among people with HIV/AIDS and suggest that concerns may shift with progress toward workforce entry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of Using Support Vector Machine in a Contractor Prequalification Decision Model

Contractor prequalification is basically a nonlinear two-group classification problem. A robust contractor prequalification decision model should include the ability of handling both quantitative and qualitative data. Support vector machine (SVM) is a set of related supervised learning methods which can handle data in a high dimensional feature space for nonlinear separable problems. A new contractor prequalification decision model using SVM is proposed to assist clients to identify qualified contractors for tendering in this study. A case study was used to validate the proposed decision model and the classification ability was compared with neural networks (NNs) and principal component analysis (PCA). The results show that the proposed SVM model outperforms NN and PCA and the merits of using SVM to mitigate the limitations of using NN are elaborated. The proposed decision model is an ideal alternative for supporting clients to perform contractor prequalification decision making.